He lays to rest the assumption that he's an existentialist--he is not. He leans toward Absurdist. And surprisingly, the book as it stares into the voiHe lays to rest the assumption that he's an existentialist--he is not. He leans toward Absurdist. And surprisingly, the book as it stares into the void, is not a depressant. Camus, I think with irony, says, how in the hell can we NOT committ suicide knowing what we know. It's just a stake in the cosmic dirt to look at, to swing around like a Maypole. I highly recommend the book for those willing to explore humanity through self-examination, art and culture. What's interesting is the tone of the essays (for the most part). Camus is known for writing rather bleak landscapes of the imagination. But his essays are him speaking directly to us, not through the filter of narrative and place. He's really a fun guy. He smiles at us. He even bought us a drink (was it good?). ...more
His sense of culture and place is a palate to slather new colors of human behavior and feelings. North Africa is not Mayberry, U.S.A. And Bowles showsHis sense of culture and place is a palate to slather new colors of human behavior and feelings. North Africa is not Mayberry, U.S.A. And Bowles shows how humanity can exist in multitude forms, live in ways that crumble existing norms, cultural, spiritual, and of the soul. That even life and death are defined and hardened into each culture wherein they "live" (or die). Sexual morays. Personal relationships. What makes our shadows alive with new monsters. In this day and age of cultural melding and our necessary leaning on diversity and similarity of humane purpose, Bowles shows us that our brothers and sisters squatting in tawny dust, sitting, waiting, living-- a plane flight away, have heart and soul, but live them through their specific cultural milieu, and that WE are arrogant in our supposition that "normal" for us is "normal" everywhere. But his greatest contribution through his work is that it is transcendent art. As with the best artists, his work leaves room for the reader to take what Bowles gives and make the work specific for the interpreter. The nightmares. The dark angst in the narrow alleys. Sickness, dying in inhospitable places. All these are small doors that lead to courtyards that the readers inhabit with our impressions and conclusions. He does not spoon feed us resolution, only amazes us with the world....more
Read the book, then see the movie... or do neither... or either. Dickey was a poet. But he wrote this book, and the book is good and does what good poRead the book, then see the movie... or do neither... or either. Dickey was a poet. But he wrote this book, and the book is good and does what good poetry does (though it is not poetry); it implies and suggests more than it can say, literally. Oh, you can talk about the down river allegory and when does society end--at the water's edge and blah blah blah, but what makes this book a keeper, is that it is short and sweet and to the point... about us. And what about us? It's like all good art, it's what you bring to it as a reader. We all know the story. We all see Burt Reynolds in his sexy sleeveless wetsuit and ned Beatty squeeling like a pig, but it all serves a greater porpoise, and you'll find it... yourself.... glean it .... and gut it and clean it, and it will be your own. Oh, and by the way, I would NOT under even the most dire circumstances of horny-tude, want to violate Ned Beaty... nosir... not even totally drunk and on 12 Viagra being womanless for 20 years. No sir. Huh uh...... now, Ava Gardner? you go ahead and squeal like a pig, darlin. Gnaw on that beech tree while papa does the boarhog grind....more
I learned from this book, that people way back in the old days when they wore robes and had flies in their food and were making and tearing down columI learned from this book, that people way back in the old days when they wore robes and had flies in their food and were making and tearing down columns, ionic, doric and dorkey... that they were just like us... inside. Societies and norms and slavery and science all change... but inside, we are human beings, and even saints fall prey to their own weaknesses and grow from their strengths. Confessions tells us in St. Augustine's own reflections on himself and those around him, how one lives one's life. How we see ourselves through the dark lens of reflection. he is the religious Montaigne. He tells us of his lusts and sins. he tells us about his soul through life. He admonishes himself, and thus, us. You've always heard about this book. William F. Buckley loved to quote him. It must be ancient and unreadable, right? Wrong. It's almost stunning how relevant and timely his observations are. This guy was a real mensch. He was humping and marrying at an early age. He was a street tough and loved cruise'n for a bruise'n. I swear to god (so to speak), this guy is as honest a m'f'ker as ever wrote a word. And he uses himself and his friends and his world as a way to talk to us through himself (and that's a very painful condition, ladies and germs). Go on. Pick up a copy at your used bookstore, because they ain't goin' like hotcakes, okay? It's short. And it's good. And next time you look at a National Geographic about ancient north Africa and see all them photos with old columns and the salted earth of Carthage, you will realize that real human beings trod that sod, and one of them was Augustine (and don't mess with his pointy hat, or he'll kick your azzzz)....more
Fun read about how Cuba was going to become a mobster-owned "nation". But, their own greed, Batista's heavy-handedness, and crazy Fidel all combined tFun read about how Cuba was going to become a mobster-owned "nation". But, their own greed, Batista's heavy-handedness, and crazy Fidel all combined to make the gambling and boozing and humping capital of the world go down fast. Author spends too much time on mob minutia, but the gossip about JFK and his sexual predilections are interesting. And it's another book that shows how the mob and government and business and WWII and all that jazz led up to some very profitable and unholy alliances. Basically, the book postulates that the Cuban nation was a democracy for a short while, and then the mob and reactionary elements in Cuban society queered the deal for the people. But, just like the "Republican Revolution", greed has a tendency to feed on itself, it eats so fast and furious, and instead of making a stable "Vegas" model, where the Cuban citizenry should have shared in the profits through good wages and jobs, the greedheads pee'd it all away. Just like the GOP did when they had all the power in their hands. they got so greedy and so got so much money from peddaling influence, that the whole thing collapsed of it's own rotten weight. Same with Cuba. Cuba is now an embarassment.... that we helped create. Even Castro, the man himself, went to Batista early in both their "careers", and he sincerely thought he could negotiate with the man. But, as we all know, the whiter the suits and the bigger the sunglasses, the more the dictator just doesn't want to give up his extra-chlorinated pool and the mistress to go with it... he wants more... he wants it all. fun read.... but just skim it....more
Penn Warren's fictional critique of demagoguery--the ups, the downs, the fun and nepotism of Willie Stark... aka Huey P. Long... two-toned shoed capt'Penn Warren's fictional critique of demagoguery--the ups, the downs, the fun and nepotism of Willie Stark... aka Huey P. Long... two-toned shoed capt'n of Loosiana. Who's good? Who's corrupt? what level of corruption is acceptable if good is being done "for the people". I say, just keep the oysters shucken and the gumbo fillet'd up. ...more
Any Faulkner fan will want to read this book. Mr. Penn Warren has accumulated essays on the nature of Faulkner and the writing that are so inextricablAny Faulkner fan will want to read this book. Mr. Penn Warren has accumulated essays on the nature of Faulkner and the writing that are so inextricably woven together. The book starts with Robert Penn Warren's brilliant essay given from his point of view as southern man and writer. He, amongst others (like Brooks, Cowley, etc.) try and decypher the undecypherable nature of time and place and culture, all bound and thrown back up at us in Faulkner's work. This book has no value to someone who's not read Faulkner, so don't bother. If one wants a great start--a shot at ingesting Faulkner, read his wonderful editor's attempt to show the world his client, Wm. Faulkner. The book is called "The Portable Faulkner". With Mr. Faulkner's permission and collaboration, Cowley takes the body of F's work and assembles it in chronological order. He removes sections of books, puts in short stuff along with the entire masterpieces, and gives us a much better way to take on Faulkner on first pass. Order it. Get it through Amazon or whatever. THEN, read Penn Warren's wonderful collection of essays that try and discypher the runes of words and clauses and phrases and endless endlessness that he uses to bombard us with enough stuff to stick. it's like using a million birdshot bb's and four of them hit and kill the bird, but oh, my, what a pattern they make as they poof on in through our feathers!!!! Come on. Get with it. Read Faulkner, and then find this Penn Warren book, and Faulkner will come out of the smokey veil to you....more
F. Scott Fitzgerald is not for everyone, or so say some. But his genius is telling the untellable in us. He says what we feel, but cannot say. And thiF. Scott Fitzgerald is not for everyone, or so say some. But his genius is telling the untellable in us. He says what we feel, but cannot say. And this particular story is, of course, a paste up of our culture, of how people can reinvent themselves in a Western Puritan sense through self conscious redemption and choices. But this book has a strange big lonely heart to it. An emptiness that makes you feel almost queasy. Jay Gatsby. Brilliant. Rich. Handsome. Has the whole world. How did he get it? What price did he pay for it? "It" is never known but hinted at. Why do we live our lives in constant striving for...? Why must we be the best, have the most, be the most charming, be People Magazine's stud of the year. Who loves us when we don't love ourselves. Who are we when we have stacks and stacks of perfectly starched and ironed shirts all packed neatly and most never to be worn. Why do you love her? Why does she love Gatsby. What is vapid? The opposite of rapid? We all want to be Jay Gatsby, but if we think about it, we don't... or better said, most of us don't....more
Brilliant book. Lean. Spare. Right down at it. He uses a trip, up river, to discover mankind, or at least, one way men can be. It builds and builds anBrilliant book. Lean. Spare. Right down at it. He uses a trip, up river, to discover mankind, or at least, one way men can be. It builds and builds and moves and moves. I suppose some would say this is a "man's" book, but I disagree. We all take that trip upriver,sometimes, and sometimes we see things about ourselves we don't like and recognize as such. Why are we here? To own. To conquer. To make oneself king of the heap. Lord of the lowlands. It's a consumate work of art. And it's narrative is it's art. One can make of this story what one will. That's the best art. Where it transcends even its creator. It is a special thing that lets one neatly slide a corner of reality into it, and it's illuminated by the art. And it is good art when each person who sees and experiences it has his or her own special "take" on it... what it represents. So, read Heart of Darkness, and you tell me.... what is this strange trip, this quest up-river... and duck!!!! that was an arrow that just missed your heart....more
If you want a taste of Paul Bowles that's wonderful and disturbing... read his collection of short fiction. His genius is in taking us away from what If you want a taste of Paul Bowles that's wonderful and disturbing... read his collection of short fiction. His genius is in taking us away from what we feel is normal--our preconceptions of who were are--to ourselves and to the ones we love. What happens when human beings are in a totally alien world. where one cannot assume anything, let alone the direction the breezes blow at night and through your room. And what pestilence and open sore and medieval stasis awaits around the next bend? Always a journey with so many writers. And place. If you want to get a good taste of being in an "alien" culture... where your mind cannot jump ahead knowing what is next, because you DON'T know what is next, and you don't know what motivates some of these characters in these strange stories. If you am one o'dem folks who likes to be transported away away on a magic carpet to somewhere not here, no 7 11's, no t.v., no help thy neighbor, no constancy that you recognize, nothing is up but that is down. Paul Bowles leads us into nooks and crannies of the world and of ourselves we did not know existed....more
Paul Bowles. The King of expats. Ginsberg et al went over to north Africa to hang out with him. Why? Because he is the quintessential nihilist and absPaul Bowles. The King of expats. Ginsberg et al went over to north Africa to hang out with him. Why? Because he is the quintessential nihilist and absurdist. A husband and his beautiful wife go deeper and deeper into the hinterland of the arab world. The farther they go away from "civilization", the sicker he becomes, and she finds herself drifting away from him as he goes, dies, and she winds up in a place and time that is hard to imagine, but happens. He is a beautiful writer. But disturbing. Time. Place. Love. Death. Everything is assailed and turned around and upside down for this couple. From modern woman, western woman to love slave. All in one lifetime.... in one world, in one desert....more
Backwards, men, to victory! This is a thoroughly readable history of how George Washington and his rag tag band of semi-soldiers finally wore down theBackwards, men, to victory! This is a thoroughly readable history of how George Washington and his rag tag band of semi-soldiers finally wore down the British. Oh, the British were as we are now--huge navy, army, and hired help (Blackwater for us--Hessians for them). And except for a couple of brilliant moves (like capturing a bunch of huge canon from Ft. Ticonderoga and moving them cross country, through the mud and slime, to Boston), and one morning the British woke up and found an entire line of defenses built overnight! and huge canon in place. But that was one of the few times George got it over the Brits. Most of the time it was skirmish and retreat... run from the guns... and then, one cold Xmas eve, George had had enough. His men were bootless, cold, hungry. The British were just across the Delaware river, celebrating Xmas, and George had this wild idea...... well, damn it, we keep loosing and loosing.... so ....let's attack! Xmas.... they won't expect it. And they didn't, and, as they say, the rest is history. A fun wonderful read, and it helps humanize the apotheosis of Washington back to reality. And in case you didn't know, Washington did NOT want this commission. He hated being the head of the whole thing. He kept asking congress to relieve him of this burden, and.... they would not. Good for them and for us....more
Young man flings himself into trouble. Why he's there; what are his motivations for sending himself, voluntarily, into a war that is miles from his reYoung man flings himself into trouble. Why he's there; what are his motivations for sending himself, voluntarily, into a war that is miles from his reality? Again, it's human beings pitted against death... death from above, death exploding underneath oneself. Love made in a sleeping bag sandwiched in between the preparations for battle. Then, finally, one of the greatest endings to any book ever written. Where time and threat converge in timeless waiting... for? For if we are still alive, we are not gone, lost. Hemingway, for me, in this book puts us in the center of peril but distances us from the fears of death and rending of flesh, but more the incredible inexorable march of men's mechanistic tendencies to gobble each other up, regardless of the reason. And how love can still bloom even in the cracks in the war allowed it. ...more
Everything you ever wanted to know (and not know) about bullfighting. If you've read Moby Dick, you'll have a idea about how an author can obsess abouEverything you ever wanted to know (and not know) about bullfighting. If you've read Moby Dick, you'll have a idea about how an author can obsess about a particular human activity, in detail, and one goes along for the ride because in that obsessive examination is a clue to what the author feels is important in some aspect of humanity. Again, Hemingway is a sucker for the Spanish way of seeing life and death and courage. Hemingway, through bullfighting, somehow finds a florid display of people facing the fear of death and conquering it. I do NOT recommend this book for the squeemish or politically correct or committed vegans with vitamin B deficiencies. We be talk'n bout meat and horns and guts and death and jerks pretending they're brave and on and on. But, like Moby dick, it's a way of finding out a lot about a subject and how that activity relates to the human condition....more
One of the last works. Again, overlooked or sneered at by critics. But for me, I love the Hemingway in this who has come to peace with a world one canOne of the last works. Again, overlooked or sneered at by critics. But for me, I love the Hemingway in this who has come to peace with a world one cannot bully or change. And he shows compassion and wisdom... not so much for him, but him reaching out to others. A fine and noble work....more
Buy it. Keep it. Hemingway's short works in chronological order. Again, one reads Hemingway not for bullfighting instructions or how to run the bulls Buy it. Keep it. Hemingway's short works in chronological order. Again, one reads Hemingway not for bullfighting instructions or how to run the bulls in some spanish town to prove one's manhood. You ignore that, and you cling to his honesty and his belief in striving for dignity and worth in one's life. His rather tortured way of dealing with women and his strange view of how courage manifests itself is.... at times... wearying. But what redeems him, for me, is his total honesty, and that he makes "art" (something higher than the sum of its parts) by showing us things he probably didn't intend. Like a person on truth serum in a delirium. He says stuff that is achingly real and true, and often it's not done directly. he may be telling us one thing, but what we glean from the work is something else. He is the servant of his own truth demon, and it works. And God help us all that we could be as honest as he. ...more
His first great book. Personally, I don't "cotton" to his ideas expressed in this book. But the writing, the truth of what he sees is laid out honestlHis first great book. Personally, I don't "cotton" to his ideas expressed in this book. But the writing, the truth of what he sees is laid out honestly and with the Hemingway style that was to grow out of this seminal work. Okay, the sun rises but the penis doesn't. Trumpet fanfare. He can't "marry" the sexy Brett. But I've got some big time philosophical differences with Hemingstein's beliefs in what a "man" is to a woman, etc. But read this book to learn about lost souls, wandering around, looking for meaning in their lives. The man CAN write....more
Many claim this book not one of his greatest, but I consider it a minimalist classic. It is a loving allegory of life and struggle and a beautiful movMany claim this book not one of his greatest, but I consider it a minimalist classic. It is a loving allegory of life and struggle and a beautiful moving examination of the importance (or non-importance) of "winning". To me it is his most mature and adult look at humanity without the macho posturing of some of his earlier work. It is clean, simple writing. And it is "true". And that's what Hemingway wanted--always strove for--to be true. As I move into my later years, and as my body slowly leaves me in pieces, this book gives me great comfort, not in the belief that man must triumph, but that the beauty in human beings is their tenacity and enduring. This book is a great book, and if you are enough of a grown up to read it, then do so....more
I highly recommend Malcolm Cowley's slicing, dicing and rearranging the highlights of Faulkner's works. Faulkner himself was very impressed with his eI highly recommend Malcolm Cowley's slicing, dicing and rearranging the highlights of Faulkner's works. Faulkner himself was very impressed with his editor's vision of his works, and said so. This book is the best way to dive into Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha (god help with the spelling of that world) County. Because Faulkner re-wrote so many things, literary overlaps, that Cowley parsed and cut and put together this indispensable book. It has the Bear and Spotted Horses and all the historical tales of the founding of his wonderful and detailed "world". Buy it. Keep it on hand. It's a book that one can pick up, read year after year, for the rest of one's life, and use it like a literary Bible to refresh and renew one's mind and spirit....more
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